PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD. 45 



to obtain a good stand of the cover crops generally used in this 

 country: 



Nitrogen Collectors. Nitrogen Consumers. 



Alfalfa 40 lbs. Rape 9 lbs. 



Hairy Vetch 40 lbs. Turnip 2 lbs. 



Cowpeas 90 lbs. Rye 30 lbs. 



Soy Beans 90 lbs. Oats 2 bu. 



Velvet Beans 25 lbs. Barley 1% bu. 



Mammoth Clover 20 lbs. Buckwheat % bu. 



Crimson Clover 20 lbs. Corn Vz hu. 



Sweet Clover 15 lbs. 



Crops in the orchard. — The question of cropping the orchard 

 is an important one. As a rule this should never be done, yet 

 it may often happen that while the trees are young, before they 

 need all the space between them, some other crop can be grown 

 on the land to advantage. In such a case, the soil must be man- 

 ured or it may run down so much that the fruit crop will not be 

 profitable. The best test to apply to this is to see that the young 

 trees make a reasonable growth of wood each year and, with this 

 accomplished, there is no danger in cropping the orchard. 



A cover crop may permit a fair growth of wood but will so 

 rob the soil of moisture late in the summer that the fruit will 

 fail to fill out properly. 



The small grains are especially objectionable in the or- 

 chard because they do not permit the cultivation of the soil nor 

 shade it sufficiently to keep it from baking. These crops alsc 

 take much plant food from the soil. 



Potatoes and corn require the cultivation of the soil itt 

 s'jmmer and consequently are among the best to grow in the 

 orchard. In the orchard preference should be given to those 

 crops that do not require the cultivation of the soil in late sum- 

 mer or early autumn, since cultivation seems to encourage late 

 growth of wood. If the orchard is to be cropped care should be 

 taken that the fertility of the soil is not impaired thereby, and 

 ordinarily it will be necessary to add manure to replace the 

 plant food removed. 



